Stacey-Ann Martin followed in her father's footsteps to join the police service and after 15 years on the job, she has no regrets.
Martin is assigned to the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) based in Aranguez and routinely goes on on patrols with soldiers in some of the country's toughest crime hotspots.
On Christmas Day, she was the lone female officer to receive an award for outstanding work.
Martin said when she heard her name called on to receive an award, it took a few seconds to register.
She proudly walked up to acting Deputy Commissioner of Police Erla Christopher collected her award for outstanding performance and dedication and shed a tear or two of happiness and pride.
“I felt a mix of emotions. I was definitely shocked that I received an award. Not only did I receive an award but that I was the only female officer to receive one. I really did not expect it. That quickly turned into happiness though as I started to process that the hard work I was doing was not going unnoticed but it was being appreciated and now celebrated.”
Martin was always a person willing to work hard. As a youth, she wanted to be a business owner and still wishes to do so at some point. But she got a job as a clerk at the Ministry of Legal Affairs and eventually wanted to put what she learned there into practice.
[caption id="attachment_932532" align="alignnone" width="722"] WPC Stacey-Ann Martin at the Inter-Agency Task Force in Aranguez. - PHOTO BY SUREASH CHOLAI[/caption]
She was about 26 years old when she decided she wanted to be an officer and in 2006 she joined the police service.
“My father was a police officer, and seeing the pride he took in doing his job inspired me and my younger brother to go down that path as well. At some point in time, you will be concerned about the danger involved but I subsided all the fears I may have had and just went full speed ahead.”
Not once has she regretted that decision. Her passion for being an officer is now so fierce, she believes it is her calling.
Martin was initially assigned to the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) Traffic and Highway Patrol Branch. She later became part of the Environmental Management Authority police unit and has since been with the IATF for the past three years.
She told WMN she made the move to the IATF because the unit had more opportunities for growth, knowledge and experience as well as for a change of environment.
She explained that there were many different departments within the IATF such as community policing, operations and strike team, administrative department, and case management, and officers can learn a little of everything.
At the IATF, Martin undertakes both administrative and operational roles, doing necessary paperwork as well as participating in patrols, roadblocks, stop and search exercises, and more.
To do so, members had to take a lot of courses including survival training and training to use different types of firearms.
“No matter the unit you are attached to, police work where police work. But the I
